


There for You

by orphan_account



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Anxiety, Depression, Gen, Insecurity, M/M, Mentions of sexual abuse (non graphic), Self Harm, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-05-18 04:02:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 12,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5897503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dolph has alot of inner demons. An eating disorder, depression, anxiety, self harm.</p><p>During a match part of his wrist tape peels away and Dean sees the fresh scars. That's the first thing that tells Dean something is wrong.</p><p> He starts to notice things he hadn't before. Like the way Dolph's normally bright blue eyes were dulled. The way he almost never smiled or laughed anymore. and then there's the scars, and Dean wonders how long this has all been going on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

He slides the blade across his wrist, the smell of blood filling the air as it flows from the new cut. He sets the blade down, pulling on a hoodie and walking out of the room.

 

It’s time to go and pretend everything’s  alright, when all he really wants to do is cry.

 

-

 

Dolph sighs, walking into the locker room and getting ready for his match. He makes sure to put a salve on his fresh cuts, so his wrist tape won’t aggravate them as much and pulls on his trunks. He and Dean are the first match of the night, and he needs to be ready.

 

Soon enough his music hits and he makes his entrance, faking a smile for the crowd and pretending everything is okay. Dean comes out directly after and the match begins, they lock up in the center of the ring, before he gets a quick upperhand on Dean.

 

Midway through the match, his wrist tape peels away partially and the cuts become visible. He doesn’t notice, but Dean does.

 

~   
  
Cuts. 

 

That’s the first thing Dean sees when Dolph’s wrist tape peels away. He shakes his head, making it a point to ask the other boy about them after the match. He focuses back on the task at hand and after a quick ‘Dirty Deeds’ he wins the match, walking to the back.

 

He showers quickly hoping to catch Dolph before he leaves. He’s in luck because as he walks from the locker room, bag in hand, he sees Dolph headed for the exit.

 

“Dolph!” He calls out to the other boy, who turns to look at him. He looks scared, like Dean’s gonna do something to him. “Hi buddy, wanna go back to the hotel together?” He says, quietly and Dolph hesitates before nodding.

 

Dean smiles at him, but he feels awful knowing he’s basically tricking the other boy into an ‘intervention’ of sorts.

 

~   
  
They get back to the hotel, and Dean leads Dolph up to his and Roman’s room. He had already texted Roman and asked if he could hang with someone else for a little while. Ro, of course, had questions but Dean just told him it was important and that was enough for Roman to agree.

 

He flips on the TV, more for background noise than anything else, and sits on his bed. He pats the spot next to him, and smiles at Dolph.

 

“C’mere.” He says and Dolph does.

 

They sit in silence for a few minutes, until Dolph speaks up.

  
“W-Why are you being so nice to me?”

 

Dean looks over at him and shrugs “You look like you need a friend, I don’t know what’s going on but… those cuts have me worried.”

 

Dolph’s eyes go wide and he pulls at the sleeves of his hoodie. “Y-you saw them?”

 

Dean nods “Yeah… when… your tape. it- it peeled away and i saw ‘em. they looked fresh, when was the last time you cut?”   
  
Dolph doesn’t say anything, just rolls away tears falling down his cheeks. 

 

Dean sighs “They’re from today, aren’t they?”

 

Dolph nods, continuing to cry and tries to shove Dean away. “Leave me the fuck alone. i don’t need your fucking help!” He stands and grabs his bag, tossing it over his shoulder and flipping his hood up. He gives the sleeves of his hoodie a tug, covering the cuts once again. “I knew it was a fucking trick, and yet i came back here with you anyway!”    
  
He walks out the door, slamming it behind him and Dean sits on the edge of the bed, sighing and running a hand through his hair. 

 

_ Well that could have went better  _ he thinks, looking up when the door opens and Roman appears.

 

“Dean? why did Dolph just storm out of here crying?” Ro asks, “Better yet, why was he in here in the first place?”   
  
Dean sighs “Something’s going on with him, i brought him back here to try and find out what it is. when he realized what i was doing, he got upset and left.”

  
“Dean, what makes you think something is going on?” Ro asks, sitting on the bed.

  
Dean shakes his head “It’s not my place to say.”

 

“Dean” Roman says, kneeling in front of him “If he’s hurting himself or you think he’s going to hurt himself or someone else, you need to tell me so we can help him alright?”   
  
Dean sighs, letting out a shaky breath “He- he cuts.” He gulps “I- I saw ‘em. during our match. they’re fresh, today most likely.”

 

Ro’s eyes go wide “ No. please tell me you’re kidding. This isn’t fucking funny Dean.”   
  
“I’m serious!” Dean says, “And i don’t think that’s all he does. I want to help him, but he doesn’t trust me at all anymore. He doesn’t *WANT* help”

 

“He may not want it,” Ro says, sighing “But he needs it”

 

~   
Dolph gets back to his room, throwing his bag across the room and dropping onto the bed, tears continuing to fall.

 

There’s a soft knock on the door and he sits up.

 

“W-who is it?” He says through his sobs. 

 

“It’s Roman, please let me in”   
  
Dolph unlocks the door, still sobbing and Roman gathers him in his arms. 

 

“Shh. c’mon, what’s wrong?” Roman says and Dolph sniffs.

 

“D-Dean tricked me.”   
  


Roman shakes his head “he didn’t do it to hurt you, he just…those cuts scared him half to death. He didn’t want you to hurt yourself worse because he decided to ignore it. He wants to help you, we both do. “

 

Dolph’s sobs dissolve into soft whimpers and he pushes himself out of Roman’s arms, crawling up on the bed and wrapping the blanket around himself. 

 

“Can he come in? He feels bad that he made you so upset.”   
  
Dolph hesitates, nodding soon after and Roman opens the door to let Dean in. 

 

Dean walks over and sits on the bed “I’m sorry I upset you. I just… when I saw those cuts I knew I had to at least try and help.”

 

Dolph nods, not saying a word and Dean sighs. “Can you tell me why you were cutting? and if you do anything else to hurt yourself?”   
  
Dolph shakes his head and it’s clear he’s not ready to get help. Dean sighs, standing “Alright, just know you can come ask for help anytime okay? We won’t push you away just because you’re not in our “group”.”

 

Dolph nods quickly, tears continuing to fall. “Thank you” he says quietly and Dean and Roman nod.    
  
“You’re welcome” Roman says, “We’re going to go so you can get some rest alright? Our door is always open for you. Any time of the day or night, okay?”   
  
Dolph nods, curling up under the covers. 

  
Dean and Roman leave, and Dolph falls straight into a fitful sleep.


	2. Chapter Two

He wakes with a start, covered in sweat, and tears staining his cheeks. He sits up, looking at the clock ‘2:30’.    
  
He groans, having only been out for about 2 hours. He doesn’t want to be alone, and is tempted to go to Dean and Roman’s room. But he doesn’t want to wake them. 

 

He ends up laying back down, falling back to sleep only to wake once again from another nightmare an hour later. He sighs, pulling on a hoodie and grabbing his room key, walking down to Dean and Roman’s room, giving the door a soft knock. 

  
Roman answers, half asleep, only waking up when he sees how distressed Dolph is. “C’mon, get in here.” He says, and Dolph does.

 

Roman closes the door quietly, sitting on his bed and patting the other side. “Come crawl up here buddy.”   
  
Dolph nods, hesitantly crawling into Roman’s bed. “What’s going on buddy, why are you knocking on our door at 3:30 in the morning, covered in sweat and tears?” Roman asks.

 

Dolph shrugs “I-I had a nightmare and i woke up at 2:30. I-I wanted to come over here b-but i didn’t want to wake you. So I went back to bed b-but i woke up again a few minutes ago and i really didn’t want to be alone” Silent tears start to fall “ ‘m sorry.”

 

“Don’t be sorry. We told you if you needed us you could come to us, that includes having nightmares.” Roman says, and Dean wakes up. 

 

“Ro, what’s goin’ on?” Dean asks sleepily, not realizing Dolph is in the room. 

  
“Dolph had a uh.. nightmare, so he came over here.” Roman says, and Dean sits up quickly. 

 

“Are you alright?” Dean asks and Dolph nods.

 

“I’ll be okay. I’m sorry I woke you.” Dolph says and they shake their heads.   
  
“It’s alright” Dean says “If you want you can stay here tonight. I’ll move onto the floor.”   
  
Dolph sniffs “Um. would it be okay if I slept with you? I-I don’t want to be alone” 

 

Dean nods “Of course, c’mon. Let’s go to bed.” Dean gets in the bed, expecting Dolph to follow but he doesn’t. “Dolph? Come on to bed.”   
  
“O-okay” Dolph says, climbing into bed. Immediately he clings on to Dean and falls asleep.

  
Dean sighs, shutting off the light and drifting off himself.

 

~   
  
Dean awakes a couple hours later, ‘6:30’ to be exact, and rolls over to get out of bed and use the bathroom, when he feels wetness under him.

 

“That’s weird” He says quietly, getting out of the bed and going to the bathroom to relieve himself. On his way back to bed, he realizes why the bed was wet. Dolph must have had an accident. 

 

He sighs, getting back in bed, planning on ignoring it completely, lest he set the poor boy off. He falls back to sleep instantly.

  
~

 

The next time he wakes up, it’s to the sound of soft whimpers. He looks over and sees Dolph sitting up, tears falling down his cheeks. 

 

“Dolph? What’s wrong, why are you crying?” He asks, sitting up. 

 

“I-I wet the bed, i’m so sorry. I just” Dolph says, breaking down in tears.

 

Dean just rubs his back comfortingly “It’s alright, I don’t mind. I just don’t know why it happened, did you forget to go before bed?”   
  
Dolph doesn’t say anything, just sighs and sniffs “I-I had to go  when i woke up the first time, but i fell back asleep. When i came over here i had to go b-but i didn’t want to ask to use the bathroom. and now i had an accident” He starts sobbing again and Dean feels awful.

 

“It’s alright, accidents happen. You could have just used the bathroom though buddy, we don’t care. If you gotta go, you gotta go.” Dean says, smiling “Do you need to go now?”   
  
Dolph hesitates before nodding, starting to squirm.    
  
“Go ahead, you look like you really need to.” Dean says and Dolph stands all but sprinting to the bathroom. Dean shakes his head,changing the sheets and not understanding why Dolph is so timid, and afraid to ask to use the restroom when he very obviously has to go. 

 

He’s lost in thought when the bathroom door opens. Dolph walks out and falls back onto the bed,visibly relieved. 

 

“Better now buddy?” Dean asks, leaning over and rubbing his back.

 

Dolph nods, not saying a word. He’s still tired, what with not sleeping well half the night, and Dean rubbing his back so gently is making him even sleepier. He yawns and Dean laughs softly.

 

“If you’re tired you can go back to sleep.” Dean says and Dolph shakes his head, knowing if he goes back to sleep, he’ll have another nightmare. Unless he’s in Dean’s arms.

 

Dean sighs, crawling up into his spot. “C’mon, you’re obviously still sleepy. Let’s go back to bed for a little bit, Ro isn’t even awake yet.”

 

Dolph tries to stifle a yawn, but it’s no use. Seeing Dean laying there is just too inviting for his sleep-deprived body to handle, and he lays down, curling into Dean’s side. 

 

Dean smiles as Dolph falls asleep, and he follows not long after.


	3. Chapter Three

Roman wakes up later on, around 9:30 or so, and looks over to Dean’s bed. He’s confused, Dolph’s still sound asleep but Dean is nowhere to be found.

 

He gets up out of bed, stretching. He notices a note on the bedside table and picks it up, reading it.

  
  


_                                Went out to get breakfast, be back soon. _

_                                                        Dean _

 

Roman shakes his head, setting it down and walking to the bathroom for a shower. He’s about to get in, when the door opens and Dolph walks in. 

 

Dolph looks up then, eyes going wide and he turns ,running out with a ‘Sorry!’.

 

Roman sighs, getting in the shower. He gets out a few minutes later, getting dressed and walking back out into the room. 

 

“You can go in now if you want” He says, and Dolph nods, not looking at him. 

 

Roman stops him just outside the door, “look at me” he says, gently lifting Dolph’s head. “don’t feel bad about that, it was an accident. I don’t usually lock the door, hell Dean’s walked in on me countless times” 

 

Dolph nods, trying to walk past Roman.    
  
Ro sighs, putting his arm down and letting Dolph through. 

 

He sits down on the bed, hearing the door open a few minutes later and Dean walks in, arms full of food.    
  
“Jeez you buy enough?” Roman asks, laughing and Dean glares “there’s 3 of us, our usual wasn’t gonna be enough jackass.”

 

Ro shakes his head “That’s twice as much as we usually get!”

Dean shrugs “fine, so i’m hungry. Kiss my ass” he sets the food down “Where’s our little houseguest?”

 

Ro points over at the bathroom “in there. he walked in on me getting in the shower and i think he feels bad about it. I told him it’s not a big deal but…” He sighs, the bathroom door opening and revealing Dolph, who looks like he’s been crying.

 

Dean walks over immediately “what’s wrong?”

 

Dolph shakes his head, tears rolling down his cheeks “You left” he says quietly and Dean’s heart breaks. He knew he should have at least waited until Dolph was awake before going out, but he was more concerned with his own selfish needs. 

 

Dean shakes his head, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy “I’m sorry, I went out to pick up some breakfast and I wasn’t thinking that you’d be scared waking up all alone. I promise it won’t happen again”

 

Tears continue to roll down Dolph’s cheeks and Dean sighs, lifting him into his arms and carrying him over to their bed. He sits down, and pulls Dolph into his lap, rocking him gently. “You’re alright, i’m not going anywhere okay? I’m right here.”

 

Roman comes over, sitting next to them and resting a hand on Dolph’s thigh rubbing it gently. “How about some breakfast, yeah? I bet you’re hungry.”

 

Dolph shakes his head, but his stomach growls and Roman laughs. “Sounds like you are to me. You want a bagel?”

 

Dolph doesn’t answer, just shrugs and Roman sighs, making the bagel and handing it to him.    
  
Dean frowns when Dolph doesn’t make a move to take it, and reaches out to grab it. He picks up one half and lifts it to Dolph’s mouth. “C’mon, you need to eat. Just a couple bites, for me?” Dean pleads and Dolph sighs, taking a bite and burying his head in Dean’s shoulder. 

 

“‘m full” he says and Dean sighs. 

 

“You only had one little bite, there’s no way you’re full.” Dean says, but the smaller boy doesn’t move at all. He sets the plate down and sighs, hoping he can get him to eat more soon.

 

He grabs a plate of his own, trying his best to eat without getting crumbs all over Dolph, who’s still curled up in his lap contently.

 

He manages, mostly, setting the plate down when he’s finished. He rubs Dolph’s back gently “Buddy, can you let me up? I need to go shower.”

 

Dolph shakes his head, tears threatening to fall, and holds onto Dean for dear life.

 

Dean sighs “Can’t Roman hold you for just a few minutes? I swear i’ll be right out.”

 

Tears continue to fall down his cheeks, but he crawls out of Dean’s lap, curling up in Roman’s.

Dean leans over and gives him a gentle kiss on the forehead “I’ll be right out, i promise.”

 

~   
  
By the time Dean finishes with his shower and gets dressed,Roman is nowhere to be found and Dolph is sound asleep once again. His blonde hair splayed across the pillow and covering his eyes.

 

He looks so innocent, and Dean smiles, getting into his spot while trying not to jostle the bed too much. He manages and lays down, Dolph immediately cuddling into his side. 

 

He sighs, ever since last night things have been weird. He never expected to be the source of comfort for anybody, much less a grown man. Of course, he wouldn’t change it for anything, it’s nice to have someone counting on you.

  
He just wishes it were under better circumstances.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Bit of a graphic scene, beware

Dean’s busy watching some stupid show, Dolph still sound asleep curled into his chest, when Roman gets back.

  
“Where’d you run off to?” He asks and Roman walks over, sitting on the end of the bed carefully.

 

“Went to get a workout in, just like you should.” Ro says and Dean shakes his head.

 

“Absolutely not. I’m not leaving him again, did you see how upset he was that I wasn’t right here when he woke up? He’s more important, workout be damned.”

 

Roman sighs “Look I know you want to help him and protect him, but you still need to take care of your other responsibilities.”

  
“What responsibilities? I met with Steph this morning and told her I’d need time off, him too.”

 

Roman sighs again “Fine, I’d take time off but I- I can’t right now. I’m sorry”

 

Dean shrugs “Whatever, I can handle him on my own.” He stands, stretching. “He’s been out since you left.”   
  
Roman nods, “Yeah he stopped crying a couple minutes after you went to shower, and fell asleep right after so I put him down and left.” He sighs “It almost feels like we’ve got a clingy toddler.” He says, not aware that Dolph is awake and can hear him. 

 

He feels the bed shift and turns to look at Dolph with a smile on his face “Hi buddy, have a good nap?”

 

Dolph doesn’t say anything, scrambling away from Roman when he reaches for him.    
  
“What’s wrong?” Roman asks, confused. 

 

“Why do you care, all i am is a ‘clingy toddler’?” Dolph says, trying not to cry. He stands, pulling his hoodie on, grabbing his room key and all but running out the door. 

The second the door closes, Dean turns to Roman. 

 

“Look what you fucking did now!” He says, grabbing his own key “You had better hope to hell he doesn’t do anything.” Dean says, walking out the door and slamming it behind him. 

 

Roman groans, running a hand over his face.

 

“I fucked up.”

 

~

 

Dean makes it out of his room, just as Dolph’s door closes. He groans, knowing Dolph isn’t going to let him in. 

 

He heads for the elevator, hoping he can convince the front desk to give him a key for Dolph’s room.

 

He gets down there and surprisingly enough, they give him a key no problem. He goes back up, letting himself into Dolph’s room. 

 

He looks around, calling for him and doesn’t get an answer. He’s about to leave when he sees light peeking out from under the bathroom door.

 

He goes over, knocking on the door and not getting an answer. He sighs, trying the knob, shocked when it opens no problem.

  
His shock is quickly replaced by a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, the sight in front of him unbearable. 

 

Dolph, unconscious on the bathroom floor, a pool of blood by him. A razor laying close by.

 

Dean feels sick, physically ill. He doesn’t have time to dwell on it though, grabbing his cellphone from his pocket and calling Roman, while trying to apply pressure to the open wounds. 

 

Roman answers on the first ring. “Hello?”

 

“Call 911” Dean says, voice trembling. 

 

“What? Why? What happened?”

 

“Just-just do it. i’ll explain later. Please” Dean pleads and Roman sighs, hanging up. 

 

The EMTs get there not much later, Dean being forced to stay while Dolph is rushed to the nearest hospital.

 

He’s still trembling when he gets back to his and Roman’s room, the image burned into his memory. 

 

“What’s going on?” Roman asks, seeing how distraught Dean is. 

 

Dean shakes his head, packing his bag. “I’ll be back later, maybe. I need to get up to the hospital.”

 

Roman blocks the door “You’re not going anywhere until you tell me what the fuck is going on!”

 

“FINE. HE WENT BACK TO HIS ROOM AND CUT, LOST ENOUGH BLOOD THAT HE WENT UNCONSCIOUS. NOW GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY!” Dean says, forcing his way past Roman and going down the hall to the elevator. He catches a cab easily and gets to the hospital within 10 minutes. 

 

~   
  
Dolph wakes up to bright lights shining in his face and groans, trying to turn his head away. 

 

Dean hears him and looks over at the bed, standing and walking over, grabbing his hand “Hey. look at me buddy.” He says and Dolph looks over, the realization of being somewhere he’s unfamiliar with hitting him, and he starts to cry. 

 

“Shh” Dean says, rubbing circles on his thumb. “You’re okay, relax or you’re going to upset your tummy.” 

 

Dolph continues to sob and Dean hits the call button, a nurse coming  in to check on him. She tries to calm him down, but he just cries harder to the point where he can barely breathe. She gives him a sedative to calm him down, and he passes out once again. 

 

Dean sighs, sitting back in his chair. Roman had tried to call him a few times, and he finally got annoyed enough that he shut it off. He can’t be dealing with Roman’s stupid ass right now, he has more important things to focus on.

 

~   
  
Dolph wakes again a little later, and this time Dean’s hand is wrapped around his. “D-Dean.” he says, tears threatening to fall. 

  
Dean looks up at him “ Hi buddy, you feeling alright?”

 

Dolph nods “Where?” He says, not able to manage much more. 

 

“You’re….you’re in the hospital. You went back to your room and hurt yourself, you went unconscious and fell and hit your head.” Dean says, and Dolph starts to cry. 

 

“‘m sorry, ‘m such a fuck up” He says, tears falling and he can hardly breathe again.

 

Dean’s eyes go wide “No. No you’re not.” He runs a hand through Dolph’s hair, trying to calm him down. “Shhh relax before you make yourself sick.”   
  


Sure enough, he ends up throwing up not much later, covering himself and Dean’s hands. Which only causes him to cry harder. “ ‘m s-s-sorry” 

 

“Shh” Dean says “It’s okay, you’re okay. It was just an accident.” He hits the nurse call button and she walks in, eyes wide. 

 

“You need to move away so we can get him cleaned up.” She says to Dean, and he tries to pull his hand away but Dolph screams and holds on as tight as he can.    
“NO! DON’T LEAVE, CAN’T LEAVE!” He cries and Dean looks at the nurse, who’s waiting patiently at the foot of the bed.

  
“I’m not going anywhere buddy, I promise. I just need to move back for a few minutes so this nice nurse can get you all cleaned up.” Dean kisses his forehead, brushing his hair back “you want to cuddle?”   
  


Dolph nods, trembling as tears continue to roll down his cheeks. 

 

“Alright well if you let the nice nurse clean you up, i promise we can cuddle right after okay?” Dean says and Dolph sobs but nods anyway, loosening his grip. 

 

Dean moves back, allowing the nurse to clean him up. He goes back over and maneuvers his way on to the small bed when she leaves.

 

“Why don’t we nap buddy, i think you’re sleepy.” He says, and Dolph nods slowly “Can turn off lights? Hurt”

 

“They hurt your head?” Dean asks, and Dolph nods.

 

Dean reaches up, shutting them off and lays back down. Dolph curls into his side, falling asleep.

 

He sighs, looking down at the smaller boy.

  
_ “This is gonna be a long road” _


	5. Chapter Five

Dolph wakes up a little later, head pounding and nauseous. He whimpers, grabbing Dean’s arm. 

 

“D-Dean” He says and Dean rubs his eyes

 

“Hm?”

  
“don’t feel so good…” he says and Dean sits up, fully awake. 

 

“What’s wrong?” 

 

“hurts. feel sick” Dolph says and Dean curses slightly, hitting the call button. 

 

The nurse walks in a few minutes later, giving him more pain medication for the headache. 

 

“Honey do you want to try eating some crackers? Might settle your stomach.” She says and Dolph nods, surprising the hell out of Dean.

 

She smiles “Alright sweetheart, give me a couple minutes and i’ll bring some.” She says, leaving. She comes back a few minutes later with a bowl of crackers, setting it on the tray table and helping him sit up a little “Here honey, try some of those.”

 

Once she leaves, Dean sits back on the bed and rubs Dolph’s back gently. He smiles when Dolph starts to nibble on the crackers, considering he hadn’t eaten hardly anything all day.

He only eats about 4 before pushing the bowl away, but Dean counts it as a win.    
  
“You feel any better?” Dean asks rubbing Dolph’s back.

 

Dolph nods “mhm. When can go home?”

 

“Probably tomorrow, they need to make sure you’re okay.” Dean says and Dolph pouts.

  
“But want to go home.” he says, blue eyes shining with tears.

 

Dean sighs “I know you do. Look when the nurse comes back we can ask if you can go home soon okay? But no promises.”

 

Dolph nods, and the nurse walks in just then.

 

“Feeling better now?” She asks, smiling. 

 

He nods, and looks up at her “When can go home?” 

 

“I think the doctor said tomorrow, I can go ask him to come down and we can see” she says, watching him nod. “Alright honey, i’ll be back soon.” 

 

Dean watches her leave and smiles, “she’s nice,yeah?”   
  
“Mhm.” Dolph says, rubbing his eyes. 

 

“Tired?” Dean asks and he shakes his head, causing Dean to laugh. “Yeah right.”

 

“‘m not!” Dolph protests, and Dean laughs again. 

 

“Whatever you say.”

 

Dolph huffs, knowing full and well Dean doesn’t believe him.    
  
The nurse comes back with the doctor soon, and she stands at the side of the bed while the doctor checks him over.

 

“Alright, well everything looks okay. We can release you but you need to take it easy for a while, you have a mild concussion and you lost a decent amount of blood. I can only release you into the hands of a family member or friend, and they need to be with you 24/7 for the next few weeks at least. You also need to go see a psychologist.” The doctor says and Dolph misses most of it, his mind incredibly fuzzy. “Do you understand?” the doctor finishes.

 

Dolph nods slightly and the doctor smiles. “Well then let’s get you out of here” He turns to Dean. “And are you going to be the caretaker?”   
  
Dean nods quickly “Of course.” 

 

“Very good” He says, and tells the nurse to go get the discharge papers. He unhooks Dolph’s IVs and moves back “Is your friend going to help get you dressed?”   
  


Dolph nods and the doctor smiles, leaving.    
  
Dean grabs a pair of sweats, a tshirt and hoodie from his bag. He sighs “I’m sorry. You’ll have to wear my stuff. I didn’t think to go to your room and get you clothes.” 

 

Dolph smiles slightly “‘s ok.” He sits up,getting a little dizzy and grabs his head. 

 

“Are you alright?” Dean asks, concerned. 

 

Dolph nods slowly after a minute when the room stops spinning “mhm. just little dizzy. ‘m okay now”

 

Dean sighs, helping him out of the hospital gown. He grabs the tshirt, pulling it over Dolph’s head. “C’mon buddy, arms in”   
  
Dolph does so and Dean smiles, grabbing the sweat pants. He helps Dolph to his feet, holding him steady through another dizzy spell and helps him into the sweat pants. “There we go.” Dean says, grabbing the sneakers from under the bed and having Dolph sit back down.

 

He slips on the sneakers and ties them quickly, grabbing the hoodie and helping Dolph into it. 

 

The nurse comes back and hands Dean the papers. She smiles at Dolph once more, before leaving the room. 

 

Dean smiles, putting the papers in his back and slinging it over his shoulder. “C’mon buddy, arms up. I’m going to carry you, I doubt you can walk with as dizzy as you are.”   
  
Dolph nods slowly, wrapping his arms around Dean’s neck. Dean lifts him up, one hand on his back and one on the back of his thighs. 

 

They head outside and Dean hails a cab back to the hotel. By the time they get upstairs, Dolph is sound asleep against his shoulder.

 

~

Roman hears the door open, and looks over. He sees Dolph sound asleep in Dean’s arms and sighs. 

 

“How is he?”

  
Dean shrugs “Weak, and he has a concussion. He can barely move without getting dizzy.” he lays Dolph in their bed and sits on the edge. 

 

Roman sighs “Shit. I-I never meant to hurt him.”   
  
Dean nods “I know. Sorry I ran out like that but I was upset and scared. I didn’t know if he’d be okay or not.”

 

“It’s alright, I just… I can’t help but feel like it’s all my fault.” Ro says, sighing again.

 

“Ro, come on man. It’s not all your fault, he’s obviously got other issues that we don’t know about. But I definitely think what you said, about him being a clingy toddler, really hurt him. You need to find a way to make it up to him, he’s probably not going to want you anywhere near him for a little while though.” Dean says, and Roman nods.

 

“I wouldn’t blame him.” He says, grabbing his room key. “I’m gonna go out for a while. When he wakes up and you get a chance to talk to him about me being here, text me and i’ll come back. I don’t want to scare him or upset him by being here when he wakes up.”

 

Dean sighs, nodding. “Alright, i’ll see you later I guess.”

 

Roman nods, walking out the door. 

 

~

Dolph wakes up a little later, needing to pee. Dean’s asleep next to him and he doesn’t want to wake him, so he gets up, trying to ignore the dizziness. He gets maybe halfway to the bathroom before the dizziness becomes too much,and he slides down the wall to the floor.

 

“D-Dean” He says, hardly able to piece the name together. 

 

Dean stirs, blinking a few times. He’s confused until he sees Dolph on the floor, leaning against the wall. 

 

“what are you doing out of bed?!” He says, getting up and walking over to Dolph. 

 

Dolph blinks up at him, room continuing to spin. “Need pee. Didn’t want wake you”

 

“You’re not supposed to be up by yourself, remember?” Dean says, lifting Dolph into his arms and carrying him to the bathroom. He holds him steady while he goes, trying to keep himself from sneaking a peek.

 

He carries Dolph back to bed when he’s finished, and lays down next to him. 

  
Dolph falls back to sleep after the dizziness subsides and Dean turns on the tv, watching it absentmindedly. 


	6. Chapter Six

Dolph wakes up again not much later and Dean looks down at him, smiling. 

 

“You feel better buddy?” Dean asks and Dolph nods, cuddling into Dean’s side. 

 

Dean smiles, running a hand through Dolph’s hair “That’s good… can i talk to you about something?”

 

“mhm” Dolph says and Dean sighs. 

 

“Roman feels really bad about what he said, and he hopes you’ll forgive him.” Dean says, feeling Dolph tense up next to him. Dean rubs his back “relax. he isn’t going to come back here until you’re ready to see him okay? He left earlier because he didn’t want to upset you, and he told me he wasn’t coming back until you say it’s okay. He never meant to hurt you.”

 

Dolph sniffs and Dean can feel tears soaking into his shirt “Shh. please don’t cry.”

 

“‘m sorry. I’ll just leave, it’s not fair for me to take Roman’s room.” Dolph says sitting up,tears streaming down his cheeks. He ignores the dizziness, standing up to leave. The dizziness gets worse and he falls back onto the bed. 

 

“I don’t think so. The doctor said you aren’t supposed to be left alone, and you can’t even move without getting dizzy.” Dean says, sighing. “Do you want me to tell Roman he can come back? and you two can make up.” 

 

Dolph nods slowly, dizziness starting to subside. “okay” he says quietly and Dean reaches over, using the pads of his thumbs to dry the tears. 

 

~

 

Roman comes back about an hour after Dean calls him, walking in and sitting on the bed. 

 

“Hi bro” Dean says, sitting at the head of the bed, Dolph practically sitting in his lap. 

 

“Hi.” Roman says, looking at Dolph “and hello to you too” 

 

Dolph looks over at him for a second, quickly turning and burying his face in Dean’s chest. 

 

Dean sighs, rubbing his back. “C’mon buddy.”

 

“I’m sorry about what I said” Roman says, “I didn’t mean it the way it sounded, I just meant that it was nice having someone kinda relying on us. I didn’t mean to call you clingy.”

 

Dean can feel tears soaking into his tshirt, and he rubs Dolph’s back gently. “Shh, you’re alright”

 

“Fuck now I made him cry.” Roman says, standing up “Maybe I should just leave.”

 

Dean opens his mouth to say something, but Dolph beats him to it. 

 

“D-don’t leave. ‘m s-sorry” He says, tears continuing to roll down his cheeks. 

 

“You have nothing to be sorry for, I shouldn’t have said what I did. It wasn’t nice and I should have worded it better. I never meant to hurt your feelings” Roman says, walking over and gently placing a hand on Dolph’s shoulder.

 

The smaller boy flinches at the touch and Roman quickly pulls his hand away. 

 

Dean sighs “relax buddy. Roman won’t hurt you.”    
  
Dolph looks up at Roman, sniffling. He doesn’t say anything, but after a few moments he reaches out and grabs Roman’s hand. 

 

Dean smiles, as does Roman. 

 

“You think you can ever forgive me?” Roman asks and Dolph hesitates before nodding. 

 

“I forgive you” he says quietly, and Dean smiles again. 

“Now that we’re all buddies again, who wants to order some food?” Dean asks, and Roman laughs. 

 

“Of course your mind is on food!” He says, causing Dean to glare.

 

Dolph laughs a little at them and Dean looks at him. “Hey now there’s a smile.” He says 

 

Dolph nods and his stomach growls, causing him to laugh again. 

 

Dean laughs “Sounds like someone else is hungry.” He says, grabbing the phone and ordering dinner. 

 

~

 

Dolph eats only about half of his dinner before pushing it away, but Dean will take it. It’s more than he’s eaten the last couple of days.

 

“Full?” Dean asks and Dolph nods, curling into Dean’s side. He yawns and Dean laughs. “Sleepy again?”

 

Dolph nods, sitting up to change into other clothes. He manages to sit up without getting dizzy, but can’t stand on his own. 

  
Dean wraps an arm around his waist to help him, bending down and looking for clothes.    
  
He sees Dolph’s bag laying there, and he’s confused. It wasn’t there before he left “Ro? Did you go get his bag from his room?”

 

“Yeah, right after you left I went over to get it. I figured he’d probably be staying with us…” Roman says and Dean nods, grabbing some clean clothes from the bag.

 

“Thanks” He says, turning to Dolph “You want to take a shower buddy?”   
  
Dolph shakes his head slowly “Can’t stand that long.”

 

“Oh right” Dean says, sighing. “I-I can help you… It might be awkward though, but you need to get clean”

 

Dolph nods “Okay”

 

Dean smiles and they walk into the bathroom, Dean helps him undress and helps him wash. Soon enough his shower is over and Dean helps him get dressed. 

 

“You want your hair back so it’s out of your face?” Dean asks and Dolph nods so Dean grabs a hair tie and pulls Dolph’s hair back. 

 

“There we go.” Dean says, picking Dolph up and carrying him to the bed. 

 

Dolph yawns again and Dean smiles, lying down next to him. “C’mon let’s go to sleep.” he says and the second the words are out of his mouth, Dolph is sound asleep. 

  
Dean reaches to turn out the light, looking over at Roman who’s also asleep, and lays down.    
  
He falls asleep immediately, thankful they’re all okay again. 


	7. Chapter Seven

Dean is sleeping soundly, until something hits him in the face. He sits up growling and ready to murder someone, until he realizes it was Dolph’s arm. 

 

The smaller boy is thrashing around in his sleep, and Dean figures it’s a nightmare. He pulls Dolph into him, rubbing circles on his back and trying to calm him down. 

 

Dolph wakes up a couple minutes later, sobbing and trembling.    
  
“Shh” Dean says, “you’re okay. It was just a bad dream.”

 

Dolph continues to cry, causing Roman to wake up.    
  
“Is he alright?” Roman asks sleepily and Dean shakes his head, mouthing “nightmare”.

 

Roman nods, “Anything I can do to help?” 

 

Dean shakes his head, pulling Dolph into his lap and rocking him as tears continue to cascade down his cheeks.  “Shh relax buddy, you’re alright. I’m right here.” 

 

Dolph grabs on to Dean’s shirt as tightly as he can, refusing to let go “D-Don’t leave.” he says, sobbing. 

 

“Shh i’m not going anywhere.” Dean says, continuing to rock him “Is that what your bad dream was about?”

  
Dolph nods, trembling “Y-you had enough of m-me and you l-left. Y-you s-said nobody would ever l-love me and i should j-just kill m-myself.” he says, breaking down into a fresh set of sobs. 

 

Dean’s eyes go wide and he curses “I’d never do that, I promise. It was just a bad dream, okay? I would NEVER say that to anyone, especially not you.” 

 

Dolph sniffs looking up at him, blue eyes filled with tears “P-promise.”

 

“I promise. I’ll never do anything to hurt you.” Dean says and Dolph stops crying, rubbing at his eyes. “Are you ready to go back to sleep now?” 

 

Dolph hesitates before nodding “hold me?” 

 

Dean nods, laying down and pulling Dolph into him. “Of course” he says, smiling when the smaller boy latches on and buries his face into Dean’s chest, falling asleep.

 

~ 

The next time Dean wakes up,it’s to someone shaking him. 

 

He groans, sitting up. “What?”

 

“I-I gotta go” Dolph says, and Dean is confused. 

 

“Go where?”   
  
Dolph doesn’t answer, just whines in response and Dean notices his hand pressed in between his thighs. 

 

He curses quietly, not knowing how he could be so oblivious, and stands up. He goes to the other side of the bed, lifting Dolph into his arms and carrying him to the bathroom.

 

Dean holds him steady as goes and sits him on the edge of the tub when he’s finished, figuring he should take the opportunity to go too.

 

Once he’s finished, they wash their hands and Dean lifts Dolph back into his arms. He carries the smaller boy back to bed, climbing in next to him and they both drift off back to sleep.

 

~

  
When Dean wakes up again, it’s of his own accord. He sits up, stretching and looking over at the clock.  _ 9:30.  _

 

He groans, burying his face into the pillow and tries to go back to sleep. Not even 10 minutes later he sits up again, frustrated, unable to fall asleep again. 

 

All the bed shifting wakes Dolph and he whines, causing Dean to feel guilty. “I’m sorry, go back to sleep.” He says, and Dolph turns his head, looking up at him. 

 

Dean notices his cheeks are rosy, and he reaches a hand under the covers and up under Dolph’s t-shirt. He rests his hand gently on Dolph’s tummy, feeling how warm he is. 

 

“Hey. are you feeling okay?” Dean asks, and Dolph shakes his head. 

 

“Don’t feel good” He says looking up at Dean, eyes glassy with fever.    
  
Dean sighs, getting up and going into the bathroom to look for a thermometer. He’s never been more thankful for Roman honestly when he finds it,considering Roman was the one to pack it. He takes it back to bed with him, and helps Dolph sit up. 

 

“Can I take your temp? You feel really warm.” Dean says, and Dolph nods sleepily,opening his mouth slightly. 

  
Dean slides the thermometer in and he closes his mouth around it. It beeps a couple seconds later and Dean takes it out, cursing.    
_   
_ _ 103.9 _

 

He gets up, going over to Roman’s bed, shaking him awake. “Ro!”

 

Roman groans, rubbing his eyes and sitting up “What?”

 

“I need your help.”   
  
“With what? I’m trying to sleep here.”

 

Dean sighs “I-I don’t know what to do. He woke up and his cheeks were all rosy and he felt really, really warm. I took his temp and it’s at 103.9”

 

“Shit. Dean, cold bath and fever reducer. If we can’t get it down soon, he’ll need to go to the hospital.”

 

“We don’t have fever reducer.” Dean says and Roman nods, standing and slipping on sneakers. He grabs his wallet and his room key “I’m going to go find a drugstore and get some, get him in a cold bath and keep him awake.”

 

Dean nods, watching him leave. He goes over and gently shakes Dolph awake, seeing as he fell asleep shortly after Dean took his temperature.    
  
Dolph whines, trying to move away from Dean. “Tired.”

 

Dean sighs “I know buddy but you’ve got a pretty high fever, we need to get it lowered.” He says, gently lifting Dolph out of bed. 

 

“After you have a cool bath and some medicine, you can go back to sleep okay? I promise”

 

Dolph doesn’t answer, just buries his face in Dean’s neck. Dean walks into the bathroom, turning the water on and letting the tub fill with cool water. 

 

He sets Dolph on the closed toilet seat and grabs the bottom of his tshirt. “Can you put your arms up for me?”   
  


The smaller boy nods, lifting his arms weakly and Dean pulls the shirt off. He gently grabs the waistband of the sweatpants and boxer-briefs, pulling them down and off. 

 

He lifts Dolph up, bridal style, and sets him in the tub. 

 

“Cold.” The smaller boy says, reaching for Dean and wanting to get out. 

 

Dean smiles sadly “I know it’s cold, but it’ll help you feel better.” He says, making sure he gets him all wet from head to toe. By the time he’s done, Dolph is shivering and his teeth are chattering. 

 

He lifts him out and wraps him in a warm fluffy towel, drying him off and brushes through his hair quickly. He carries him out and sets him on the bed,still wrapped in a towel. 

 

He’s in the process of getting him dressed when Roman walks in, holding a bottle of fever reducer. 

 

Roman doses it out and hands it to Dean. “I tried to get the pills or whatever, but they only had liquid.”   
  
Dean nods, getting Dolph to take the medicine after a few minutes of him refusing. Dolph yawns, desperately wanting to go back to sleep and Dean smiles. 

  
“Alright, you can go back to bed.” He says, watching Dolph crawl into his spot and cover up. He falls asleep instantly and Dean sighs.

 

“I hope this comes down soon” he says and Roman nods.

  
“Me too”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These poor boys can't catch a break can they?


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long! i haven't been feeling well the last little while :/

2 hours later Dean grabs the thermometer, figuring it’s time to see if the fever had come down at all. 

 

He gently wakes Dolph up, just enough to get the thermometer in his mouth securely. 

 

It beeps after a few seconds and he pulls it out, sighing. 

 

103.9

 

He shakes his head, the fever hadn’t come down at all. He looks over to where Roman is sound asleep in the other bed, and stands up.    
  
“Roman. wake up” he says and Roman groans. 

 

“What?”

 

Dean sighs “His fever is exactly the same as it was earlier.”

 

Roman sits up quickly then, looking over at Dolph who’s still sound asleep. “Dean, he’s not going to like it but we need to get him to the hospital. A fever that high is dangerous if it lasts too long, and the fact that fever reducer didn’t help at all is concerning.”

 

Dean nods, going over and gently shaking Dolph awake. Dolph whines, trying to move away from him. 

 

“I know, I know, you’re sleepy but…” Dean sighs “we need to get you to a doctor”

 

Dolph whines again, sitting up. “Don’t wanna”

 

Dean sighs, “I know you don’t, but your fever hasn’t come down at all and its been two hours since we gave you the medicine. It should have improved at least a little bit by now.”

 

Dolph doesn’t respond, just looks up at Dean. He looks terrible, cheeks rosy red and forehead slick with sweat. 

 

“Can you tell me if anything hurts?” Dean says, noticing Dolph holding his tummy. 

 

“ tummy “ He says, and Dean can see he’s about to cry. 

 

“Hurts really bad?” He asks, watching Dolph nod. He sighs, grabbing Dolph’s hoodie and sneakers. He gets them on and lifts Dolph into his arms, the smaller boy whimpering in pain. 

 

Roman sighs, watching them. “You want me to come?”   
  
Dean shakes his head “I got it, i’ll let you know what’s going on okay?”

 

“Alright.” Roman says, walking over and running a hand through Dolph’s hair “Feel better buddy.”

 

~   
  
They get to the hospital soon after, and Dolph is in tears. The pain in his tummy had gotten worse on the way there.

 

Dean signs him in, and soon they’re called back. 

 

“Alright, what’s going on?” The doctor asks and Dean sighs.

 

“He’s had a fever of 103.9 since about 9:30 this morning, and when he woke up about an hour ago he said his tummy hurt. By the time we got here he was in tears because the pain had gotten worse.”

 

The doctor nods, writing it down. “I need to feel his abdomen to see if my suspicions are correct. Lay him down for me” 

 

Dean does so and the doctor starts to feel around Dolph’s tummy, and by the time he reaches the lower right hand side, Dolph is crying harder and begging him to stop. 

 

The doctor does, pulling his hands away and going over to the phone by the door “prep the OR for ER bed 3 ” he says, hanging up.

 

Dean overhears the entire thing “OR? What’s going on?!” He says, concern lacing his voice. 

 

“Appendicitis. I’m going to have to ask you to leave, I need to prep him for surgery. If we don’t remove his appendix soon, it could rupture which poses serious problems. I’ll be sure to send someone for you when he’s out of surgery.”

 

Dean sighs, not wanting to leave Dolph’s side, but knowing it’s necessary. He goes out to the waiting room, and Dolph is taken up to surgery. 

 

He decides to pull his phone out and call Roman, who answers on the first ring.

 

“Hello?”   
  
Dean sighs “Hey bro, he’s in surgery.”

 

“Surgery?!” Roman screams “For what?”

 

“Appendicitis.” Dean says simply and Roman sighs

 

“God I hope he’s gonna be alright.”

 

Dean sighs “I’m sure he will be.” 

 

They talk for a while longer, before a nurse comes over to get him and lead him to Dolph’s room. He hangs up with Roman and follows her. 

 

He walks into the room and she leaves. Dolph looks so innocent lying there, just out of surgery. 

 

Dean walks over and grabs his hand, rubbing small circles. “Thank god you’re alright.” he says quietly, grabbing a chair and sitting down. 

  
He falls asleep not much later, hoping the nightmare will end. 


	9. Chapter Nine

Dolph gets released the following morning, unable to move very much. He’s visibly exhausted and irritated, and Dean quickly learns to just grin and bear it, instead of being confrontational. 

  
They get back to the hotel, Dean having to carry him. Dean lays him on the bed and he tries to stand up on his own.

 

Dean gives him a gentle shove back down to the mattress, and he glares. “Excuse you.”

 

“You heard the doctor, you need to take it easy.” Dean says, causing Dolph to roll his eyes. 

 

“That’s great, but I need to piss.” He says, and Dean picks him up. “Fuck you.” He says and Dean just looks at him.

 

“Well this is drastic mood swing now isn’t it?” Dean says and Dolph huffs. 

 

“what? So you only want me around when i’m a crying mess? Good to know.”

 

Dean shakes his head “You know damn well that’s not true. I just don’t understand why you’re acting so different today” he says, carrying Dolph to the bathroom. “Do what you need to do, i’ll be right out here when you’re done.”

 

Dolph nods,slamming the door. Dean winces slightly at the sound  _ something must have happened between last night and today…… but what? I was with him pretty much constantly………except for in the lobby.  _ He sighs,  _ fuck. something had to of happened then...... _

 

The door opens loudly, causing him to jump. “You good?” 

 

Dolph nods, demeanour having changed in the few minutes he was in the bathroom. Dean lifts him up and he buries his face in Dean’s neck. 

 

Tears roll down his cheeks, soaking into Dean’s shirt. “‘m sorry”

 

Dean sighs, sitting on the bed “It’s alright.” he sighs heavily “Did something happen in the lobby?”

 

Dolph hesitates before nodding “I-I was waiting for you and Kevin came over. He started talking shit, and he kicked me in the ribs. He told me I was worthless, and you only wanted me around because you felt sorry for me.”    
  
Dean growls, seeing red. Who in the blue hell does Kevin think he is? “He say anything else?”   
  
Dolph shakes his head “just that I deserved it………”

 

“Deserved what?”

 

Dolph sighs, “.................... being abused.” 

 

Dean’s eyes go wide “Is that why you don’t trust hardly anyone, and why you hurt yourself?”   
  
Dolph nods and Dean’s heart breaks. “D-Did they do anything else?”   
  
Dolph nods again, whispering quietly “raped” and Dean’s heart drops into his stomach. 

 

“I’m so sorry.” Dean says, because what else can he say? 

 

Dolph shrugs “I had it coming.”    
  
“No, no you didn’t. Nobody fucking deserves to be violated.” Dean says, irate but trying to mask it so as to not scare Dolph. 

 

Dolph doesn’t say anything, just rolls out of Dean’s lap and curls up with the blanket, a blank look on his face.

 

Dean shakes his head, deciding to drop it for now. But he WILL find out who did it, and he WILL kick their ass. 

 

-

Roman walks in not much later and immediately notices the cold front Dean is giving off. 

 

“What’s wrong bro?” He asks and Dean shakes his head. “Not my place to say.”

  
  


“Dean. What’s going on?” Roman prods, and Dean growls about to respond but Dolph beats him to it.

 

“ ‘s my fault” He says, quietly and they both turn to look at him. 

 

“No it’s fucking not.” Dean says and Roman is even more confused. 

 

He sits on the bed, on the other side of Dolph “Why do you think it’s your fault?” He asks.

 

Dolph shakes his head “I was a dick to him. I-I just…” He says, sniffling. “Kevin came over to me in the lobby, a-and he told me Dean only wanted me around because he felt sorry for me. H-He told me i’m worthless and that I-I deserved……” He stops, unable to continue, instead dissolving into sobs.

 

Roman wraps an arm around him, shooting a worried look at Dean. He then looks down at Dolph. “Deserved what? And if it’s too much for you to say, is it okay for Dean to tell me?”   
  
Dolph nods slightly, sobs wracking his entire body. Roman looks to Dean for an explanation. 

 

“He was abused and raped by someone. He won’t tell me who.” Dean says quietly and Roman is hoping, no  _ praying _ , he’s hearing things. But he knows that’s not the case when he asks Dean to repeat it and Dean’s only response is “You heard me”

  
  


Roman sighs, continuing to hold Dolph while he cries. Dean gets on the other side and the three of them sit there, unable to do much else.

 

Finally, the sobs stop and Dolph slowly lifts his head, sniffling.

 

Dean looks at him “Do you feel better now?” he asks gently, and Dolph nods slowly. 

 

“‘m sorry” He says, hiccuping. 

 

Dean sighs “You have nothing to be sorry for. you’ve been through a lot,it’s okay to cry.”

 

Roman nods and Dolph sighs, rubbing his eyes sleepily. Dean watches him, standing up and pulling the blanket back.

 

“take a nap. Doctor said you need to rest, remember?” Dean says and Dolph nods, moving to crawl under the covers and he winces. 

 

“Ow” He says and Dean sighs, lifting up his shirt. He draws in a sharp breath at the sight, Dolph’s ribs are completely black and blue. Of course it’s the same side he just had surgery on too.   
  
“Is that where he kicked you?” Dean asks and Dolph nods slightly. Dean continues to look it over, trying to make sure the stitches are still in tact. “It doesn’t look like it wrecked the stitches, but that has to hurt quite a bit huh?”

 

Dolph nods again, whining slightly. Roman stands up, walking to the bathroom and coming back with aleve a couple minutes later.

 

“Here. take these, they should help your ribs.” He says, handing them to Dolph along with a bottle of water.    
  
Dolph takes them and yawns. Dean can tell he’s about to fall asleep, so he gently maneuvers the smaller boy under the covers, trying to ensure he doesn’t jostle him too much. 

  
As soon as he’s covered up, Dolph is sound asleep and Dean is left to think about what he had found out earlier that day.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is pretty short, sorry! >.

A week or so later, Dolph is nearly healed. Well, at least physically. Mentally, he’s been a wreck. Just about every night he wakes up screaming and crying, Dean having to hold onto him as he sobs. 

 

Currently, he’s sound asleep, arms firmly wrapped around Dean’s torso. Dean sighs, absentmindedly running a hand through his hair.

 

He never thought he’d be this close to the older superstar, but he wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.    
  
Admittedly, he’d begun to fall for the blonde, which he hated himself for. Dolph had been through enough, the last thing he needed was for the only person he truly trusted and felt safe with to develop feelings for him. 

 

Dean sighs, pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind. As badly as he wanted to act on his feelings, he knew it wouldn’t be fair to put Dolph in that position. Not when he was so vulnerable. He’s still lost in thought when Dolph wakes up, looking up at him, blue eyes hazy with sleep. 

 

“Morning sunshine” Dean says softly, running a hand through Dolph’s hair. “Did you sleep well?”   
  
Dolph nods, still visibly sleepy. He curls into Dean further, head directly under Dean’s chin. 

 

“Are you hungry?” Dean asks, and he shakes his head slightly. He sits up then, stretching.    
  
It’s their daily routine, Dean wakes up and holds Dolph while he sleeps. Once Dolph’s awake Dean always asks if he’s hungry and the answer is always no. Then comes the stretching, and Dolph gets up to use the restroom while Dean orders breakfast. 

 

When Dolph comes back from the restroom, he looks a little more awake than before and Dean smiles. “Feel better?”    
  
Dolph nods, sitting on the edge of the bed. He runs a hand through unruly blonde hair, and Dean can’t help but laugh when it sticks out in all directions.

 

He reaches a hand over, patting it down which causes Dolph to smile slightly. “Can i help you?”    
  
Dean shakes his head “No, I just love your hair first thing in the morning. It’s cute” He says, smiling.    
  
Dolph looks at him like he’s grown an extra head, and he curses mentally. Had he really just told Dolph he thought his hair was  _ cute _ ? 

 

“Uh i just meant…… “ He starts, not completely sure  _ what _ he meant.

 

Dolph smiles. “It’s okay.” he says. And then he does something Dean wasn’t expecting.    
  
He leans in close, soft lips brushing against Dean’s. At first, Dean’s caught off guard. But after a few seconds he relaxes into it, carefully making sure the blonde has all the control.

 

They pull apart a few minutes later and Dolph looks at Dean, blue eyes bright for the first time since god knows when.    
  


Then, before Dean can even comment on what had just happened, Dolph’s demeanor changes drastically. He looks panicked and scared, jerking away when Dean tries to rest a hand on his shoulder. 

 

“I-I don’t know what I was thinking. I-I’m sorry, I didn’t even ask if it was okay. I just did it and now you’re gonna hate me, and i’m going to be all alone again and I just…” he stops, barely able to breathe and Dean feels horrible. 

  
“It’s okay.” Dean says quietly. “I’m not going anywhere okay? I promise.”   
  


Dolph doesn’t seem to respond at all and Dean sighs, mentally debating whether or not he should clue Dolph in on his feelings. He comes to the conclusion that it can’t hurt at this point and decides to just ‘bite the bullet’ so to speak. 

  
“I could never leave you. I-I love you, and I can’t bear the thought of ever letting you go.” Dean says quietly , and Dolph looks up at him, confused but no longer in a panicked state. 

 

“Y-you love me?” Dolph says, blue eyes shining with tears. “But I’m nothing but a headcase. I-I’m worthless and useless.”

 

Dean shakes his head. “You’re not useless or worthless. In all honesty, making sure you’re happy and healthy is all that matters to me.” 

 

_ Boy do I sound like a sap.  _ He thinks, but he wouldn’t change it for a damn thing. 

 

Dolph starts to cry then, and Dean’s afraid he fucked up. But then, Dolph smiles through the tears and wraps his arms around Dean’s neck. 

  
“I love you too”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY FOR CUTENESS! 
> 
> Who wants to see cute, fluffy boyfriends?! 
> 
> (with a side of insecurity, self-harm and an abusive ex. (because lets face it, Dolph's problems aren't going to magically disappear))


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to update! Hopefully you guys will like this one. :)

(A/N [sort of]: It’s been about a month since they got together, and things have been going along pretty well. Dolph moved in with Dean in Vegas, and Dean couldn’t be happier. No one knows about their relationship except Roman, and that’s only because he walked in on them making out.)

 

*

Dean wakes up,stretching and notices the other side of the bed is empty. He rolls his way out of bed, thoroughly confused as he’s usually the first one up. He makes his way downstairs, looking all over for his little blonde-haired boyfriend. 

 

After searching for damn near an hour and not finding him anywhere, Dean starts to worry. What if something had happened? He shakes his head, willing the thoughts to go away. Nobody knows they live here, except Roman and Roman wouldn’t do anything to Dolph… would he? 

 

_ No. Absolutely not. Dolph’s family, Roman wouldn’t hurt him.  _ He thinks, mostly believing it but a small part still unsure. He sighs, making his way upstairs to get dressed. 

 

He walks past the guest room on his way back to his room. For some unknown reason, he decides to push the door open slightly. He breathes a huge sigh of relief when he sees Dolph curled up in the middle of the bed, sound asleep. 

 

He smiles, Dolph has the teddy bear Dean got him for their one month anniversary tucked into him, nuzzled up by his face. He looks incredibly innocent this way, and Dean can’t help but get a little closer. 

 

He brushes the blondes hair out of his face, causing the smaller boy to whimper and bury his face in the pillows. Dean laughs lightly, standing up and making his way out of the room. 

He supposes he could wake Dolph up, but they don’t really have anything to do today so there’s no harm in letting him sleep a little longer. 

 

~

 

An hour later and Dolph finally stirs, sliding out of bed and padding barefoot down the hall to the bathroom. Dean cuts him off just as he’s about to walk in, giving him a kiss and lifting him into his arms.

 

“Good morning sunshine” Dean says, laughing as Dolph glares half-heartedly. 

  
Dolph squirms in Dean’s arms “Put me  _ down _ . I’m not a little kid.”

 

“Not a kid? True. But you  _ are _ pretty little.” Dean says and Dolph is quick to bite back,“that’s not what you said last week”

 

The look on Dean’s face after he says that is absolutely priceless and he bursts out laughing, causing Dean to give him another kiss. Much rougher this time,pressing Dolph against the wall. The position causes his abdomen to press heavily against Dolph’s, and the smaller boy whines, pushing Dean back slightly. 

 

Dean’s confused, wondering what the hell he did. “What’s wrong?” 

 

“I-I haven’t had a chance to pee yet.” Dolph says quietly, and Dean’s eyes widen in realization.    
  


“And me pressing against you like that, probably made you have to go pretty bad huh?” Dean asks, and Dolph nods, biting back another whine. 

 

“I already had to go really bad, forgot to go before bed…” he says, and Dean immediately lets him down, watching as he shuts the bathroom door in Dean’s face. 

 

He comes out a couple minutes later, wrapping his arms around Dean’s neck. Dean smiles, giving him a quick kiss. 

 

“Better now?” He asks, and Dolph nods. Dean smiles, giving him another kiss. “You want to go get dressed and we can go out for some breakfast?”

 

Dolph nods, walking down to the bedroom and getting dressed. He walks back out a few minutes later, grabbing Dean’s hand and they walk downstairs together. Dean grabs the car keys, following Dolph out to the car. 

 

*

“What else do you want to do babe?” Dean asks after they finish breakfast. 

 

Dolph shrugs a little, looking over at Dean. “.....I need some new sneakers and stuff…”

  
“We can go look now.” Dean says, smiling.

 

“Are you sure? I mean, I can wait if you don’t want to take me…”   
  
Dean nods “I’m absolutely sure. Your sneakers are getting torn to shreds, I don’t want you walking around in things that could completely fall apart at any given moment.” He says, pulling into the mall parking lot, watching Dolph tense up slightly. “You okay?”   
  
Dolph nods weakly. “Yeah, I- I’m fine. Let’s just go in.” He says, unbuckling and getting out of the car. The second Dean is out of the car, Dolph is grabbing his hand in a vice grip. 

 

“We aren’t going anywhere until you tell me what’s going through your head” Dean says, and Dolph sighs. 

  
“It’s nothing, I just get a little anxious in crowded places…” 

 

Dean nods slightly. “I’m right here if you need me, and if you need to leave just tell me and we will okay? I don’t want you to be uncomfortable”

  
Dolph nods, loosening his grip on Dean’s hand just a little. They walk into the shoe store and Dean leads him over to the converse section, laughing when Dolph’s face lights up. 

 

“I figured you’d want to look at these first” Dean says, smiling as Dolph looks at a few different pairs. He stops on one, a pair of black high-tops with a red tongue and blue heel stripe and Dean can tell that they’re the ones he wants.    
  


“Try them on” Dean says, and Dolph shakes his head.    
  


“They’re $75. I’m not spending that on a pair of sneakers.” Dolph says, and Dean grabs a pair. He kneels down in front of Dolph, gently shoving him back onto a bench. He pulls off Dolph’s sneaker, and slides on one of the new ones. 

  
“How does that feel?” Dean asks, helping Dolph stand up. 

 

Dolph nods a minute later, sitting back down and pulling it off. “It’s comfortable. But i’m not spending that much on shoes.”   
  
Dean smiles, grabbing the box and walking to the registers. “You might not be, but I am.”    
  
“Absolutely not. You’re not spending that much on me, I refuse.” Dolph says, running to catch up with Dean, just as Dean slides his card through. 

 

“Too late.” Dean says, smiling and takes his hand, leading him to a bench outside the store. “Sit down” he says, kneeling on the ground.    
  
Dolph sighs, doing as he’s told and Dean gently takes off his ratty old sneakers, quickly replacing them with the new ones.

 

“They look good on you. Tiny little feet.” Dean says and Dolph practically growls at him. 

 

“My feet are  _ not _ tiny!” He huffs, and Dean laughs, standing up. 

 

“Yes they are.” Dean says, leaning in and giving him a kiss. “I think they’re cute.”

 

Dolph doesn’t respond, standing up and grabbing Dean’s hand tightly, his anxiety starting to kick in as the mall gets busier. “C- can we leave now? Please.”    
  


Dean nods, “of course we can” He says, noticing how tense Dolph is. “Hey, relax. You’re okay, we’ll be out of here soon okay?”

 

*

 

They get home a little later, Dolph incredibly quiet since the mall. Dean sighs, wishing he’d speak but deciding not to push it. 

 

They’re not home more than 10 minutes before Dean finds himself curled up in bed, Dolph sound asleep cuddled into his side. 

 

He smiles, soon drifting off himself. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it's been so long! I've had this written for over a month and I thought I had posted it :-( my mistake
> 
> I hope you enjoy it though! Please leave comments, I love hearing from readers :)

Dean awakes to incessant knocking a little later, sleepily unwrapping himself from Dolph and the covers and walking downstairs to see who the hell is banging on their door.

He yanks it open viciously, not looking up and practically growling “What the fuck do you want?”

“Is that how you greet all your guests?” Roman asks, laughing. 

Dean looks up, rolling his eyes “Only the ones who bang on my door while i’m trying to nap.”

“A nap? That’s not like you… busy day?” Ro asks, inviting himself in. Dean rolls his eyes again, closing the door. 

“Just make yourself at home.” he says sarcastically and Roman laughs. “Answer my question. What have you been up to today that you needed a nap?”

Dean shrugs. “Not much we went out for breakfast and went to the mall. Bought him new sneakers.” 

Roman nods slowly. “I feel like you’re not telling me something.” 

“Nothing to tell. We got food, we went to the mall. That’s it.” Dean says, not wanting to betray his boyfriends trust by saying exactly *why* the mall was a fiasco. 

“Dean, you and I both know *something* happened today. Just tell me already, you know you can trust me with anything.” 

Dean sighs. “Not my place to say. I’m gonna go check on him, he really doesn’t like waking up alone too much.” 

Roman nods. “Alright, mind if I raid your fridge?” 

Dean rolls his eyes. “Fine. I’ll be back” he says, heading up the stairs. 

~

 

He walks back into the bedroom, smiling a little at the sight in front of him. Dolph curled up on his side of the bed, Dean’s pillow tucked in his arm and his face buried in his own pillow, hair splayed out across it. He quietly makes his way over to the bed, gently rubbing Dolph’s back. 

“Babe… time to get up” He says quietly, causing Dolph to whine. 

“Don’t wanna.” Dolph says, trying to pull the blanket over his head. 

Dean laughs a little, pinning the blanket down. “Too bad. We have company.”

“Tell them to go away.” Dolph huffs, burying his face in the pillow. 

Dean shakes his head. “You leave me no choice…” he says, moving to the end of the bed and tickling Dolph’s feet, causing the smaller boy to start laughing and trying to kick him away.

“S-s-stop. I’ll get up okay?!” Dolph says in a fit of giggles, causing Dean to laugh and let go of his feet. 

 

“Good.” Dean says, crouching down next to the bed. “Hop on.”

Dolph laughs, wrapping his arms around Dean’s neck, and his legs around Dean’s waist. Dean stands up,holding Dolph’s legs tightly and walking downstairs. 

Roman hears the laughter coming from the steps and looks over, laughing himself. “Hey Deano, when do I get a ride?”

Dean laughs “When you weigh less than a ton.” he says, gently setting Dolph down. 

“Are you really that lazy that you need him to carry you everywhere?” Roman asks with a laugh, looking at Dolph. 

“I....” Dolph says, unable to say more before running upstairs and slamming the door to the bedroom. 

Dean glares at Roman “Not cool. You know he takes that shit to heart, I need to go make sure he’s alright. Let me know when you find my best friend, because that wasn’t him.” He says, storming off up the stairs, leaving Roman to mull over what had just happened. 

~

The first thing Dean hears when he gets upstairs is the sound of soft crying, coming from their bedroom. He gently pushes on the door, surprised when it opens since Dolph has a habit of locking doors when he’s upset. He walks over to the bed, carefully pulling Dolph into his lap and brushing his hair back. 

“Shh. Relax babe, Roman was just being an ass okay? Don’t take anything he says to heart. I know you’re not lazy and I like being able to carry you everywhere, his comment was out of line and uncalled for.” Dean says, pressing a soft kiss to Dolph’s forehead. 

Dolph sniffles, burying his face in Dean’s neck. 

Dean sighs, standing up and carrying Dolph downstairs. He looks over at Roman. “I think you owe him an apology. Or you can get the hell out of OUR house.”

Roman winces at the tone of Dean’s voice, venom practically dripping from his words. “I’m sorry. You’re not lazy, i was just trying to make a joke. Didn’t mean for you to take it so seriously.”

Dolph nods, not saying a word and Dean growls “THAT’S your apology? You basically said it’s his fault he got upset over something YOU said.”

“That’s not what I meant. I just meant I didn’t mean to upset him so much. It was a mistake on my end, sorry. I’ll just head out, wouldn’t want to make him more upset.” Roman says, walking out the door. 

Dean sighs, setting Dolph on the couch and sitting down himself, head in his hands. 

 

“‘M sorry. Roman is mad at you because of me.” Dolph says, looking down, tears pooling in his blue eyes. 

Dean lifts his head, looking at Dolph. “Babe, no. This isn’t your fault, Roman fucked up in saying what he did, and I called him out on his shit. He’s mad at me because of me. Not you.” He says, reaching over and using the pad of his thumb to wipe a tear of Dolph’s cheek. “Please don’t cry babe, it breaks my heart.” 

Dolph nods, and Dean knows he’s still blaming himself. “Babe, I promise you did nothing wrong okay? If Roman and I are actually meant to be best friends, it’ll work itself out.” Dean says, giving him a quick kiss. “Now come on, we’re gonna go pick up stuff so we can make dinner together, and we’ll watch a movie tonight. I’m not gonna let this little tiff with Roman ruin our night.”

Dolph smiles a little and Dean stands up, grabbing his hand and pulling him off the couch. 

They’re out of the house a few minutes later.

~

They're just getting home from the store, when Dean's phone rings.

“Hello?” he asks, not bothering with caller ID

“Hey brother…” Roman says, and Dean has to hold onto the wall to keep from collapsing, not having expected Roman to call that soon. He hears Roman sigh,before continuing “I'm sorry about earlier, I wasn't thinking before I spoke. I managed to upset both of you and then I stormed out.”

Dean sighs, rubbing his hand over his face “don't even worry about it. I got too carried away, you know me, I'm very protective of people I care about.”

“Don't apologize Deano. I fucked up and absolutely deserved everything you said.” Roman said “how is he anyway? I could tell he was pretty upset…”

“He's alright Rome, honestly. He's just not having a great day to begin with, and then the whole thing with you just made it worse. He's not upset with you though, I swear.” 

He hears Roman sigh softly “is it alright if I come back there now…”

Dean sighs, looking at Dolph who nods hesitantly. “Of course Rome. We'll see ya soon”

“I'll be there in an hour” Roman says, hanging up.


End file.
